Modern Populist Movements Consistently Fizzle Out
Notwithstanding the often confused and mixed messages, and the disorganization, these Tea Party candidates, each in his or her own way, are carrying populist messages. If this movement is the sum of its parts, it is surely a populist undertaking.
Georgetown University historian and biographer of the great populist Williams Jennings Bryant, Michael Kazin, described populism for Newsweek as follows: " At its core, populism in the United States remains what it has always been: a protest by ordinary people who want the system to live up to its stated ideals--fair and honest treatment in the marketplace and a government tilted in favor of the unwealthy masses." Not without good reason, overwhelmingly Tea Party supporters believe that government is taking better care of corporations, and itself, than it is of the unwealthy masses.
Jay Shafritz's Dictionary of American Government & Politics explains populism as a recurring theme in American politics that stresses the role of government in defending small voices against the powerful and wealthy. History shows that these recurring themes come from both sides of the political spectrum. As Shafritz notes, "any political movement that has mass popular backing and is generally perceived to be acting in the interests of the people can be called populist." While progressives do not much care for the conservative Tea Party's approach, that fact does not make it any less populist. In fact, many economic conservatives shudder at Sarah Palin's populism, and her endorsements of Tea Party candidates have, more often than not, made them viable in their races: Just ask Sharon Angle, or Christine O'Donnell, or Nikki Haley.
My point in noting, and emphasizing, the populist underpinnings and foundation of the Tea Party movement is that modern populist movements have consistently fizzled out, and often quickly. This column is too short to examine the modern history of populism, but in my cursory look at late-Twentieth-Century and Twenty-First-Century populists, while I can find short-lived impacts of populist movements, I can find but a few populist undertakings of continuing significance, other than the New Deal and the Great Society -- both of which conservatives are devoted to undoing.
If the Tea Party proves to be stronger than I suspect it will on November 2, 2010, I will return to the subject, and explain why the Party's impact, based on history, will surely be short-lived. If that does not happen, and the Party falls short of expectations at the polls, as I expect will be the case, then there will be no need for further comment, for the Party's efforts at a conservative-based populism will have already run their course, as most populism quickly does. In fact, the fate of most populism is regrettable, for the elites are very good at taking care of themselves, and everyone else needs far more attention than, in fact, they are given.
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